And that's a wrap... I'll do a proper end of season report soon but for now here's a video of this mornings lovely autumnal conditions. Thanks all for a great season.
Alex
Best played with sound! Over the last week we have seen plenty of migrations with large skeins of geese overhead and plenty of whooper swans passing through as well. One bird that I always look forward to seeing again is the Great Northern diver. A heavy and persistent bank of fog shrouded the island today but luckily there was a hole at the top of the loch which stayed fairly clear for most of the day. The low cloud made for a nice setting for the diving eagles and the warning calls of large groups of divers really helped set the atmosphere.
A few clips from today's trips!
Cars
An expensive traffic jam in Salen this morning as rally cars line up for the start of leg 2 of Mull Rally 2024. It’s a showery Autumn day here so the roads will be slippy especially on the newly layed tarmac. Stay safe guys and have a good run. Scott and Angus are still in the rally but I don’t know any positions.
Well that rounds out what has been a fantastic week of weather and wildlife. Plenty of eagle action today and some absolutely gorgeous autumnal light for the photographers on board. Thank you again to Andy and Sarah for the biscuits this morning and to all of our passengers for joining us this week. Dad and Mum are still away in Glasgow for the time being so there will be no one manning the landlines for a little while longer. You can book via the website or email [email protected] with any enquiries in the meantime.
Cheers Alex.
A dolphin day! Our last day with this high pressure and we made the most of the nice weather with a couple of great trips out. Eagles and dolphins on both morning and afternoon made for some happy guests. This afternoon we also had a peregrine use the boat as cover as it stalked some prey, something I've only seen a handful of times over the years but is always amazing to see
A cracker today. Blue skies, calm seas and enough of a breeze to keep the birdies happy. Our morning was a lovely relaxed trip into loch na Keal, where we had some stellar views of the Killiechronan birds and one of their very vocal youngsters as well as a sneaky visit from the New Kids on the rock. Our afternoon took us westward and after a fabulous encounter with the Wilderness pair we headed further west for coffee. Our coffee break was put on hold when I spotted some splashing in the distance, and a short steam later we had a great time with this very active pod of common dolphins. After a few minutes I killed the engine and we sat and had drinks whilst the dolphins worked some shoals of fish before setting a course for home. On the way back in we were spotted by the Ulva pair who snuck in for a snack each, rounding out the trip nicely.
Cheers Alex.
Some lovely views last week from LJ. The weather next week might not be as good but it’s looking much better than the rest of the year so all being well we will be able to enjoy it. Tge wildlife continues to be incredible and we are starting to see some Autumn visitors starting to arrive.
An early alarm for me today as I walked Monty before work. Worth getting up for though as the sunrise speaks for itself... Two fabulous trips today. With a light south westerly breeze keeping the windows, wet we enjoyed some much needed sunshine as a high pressure system moves in for a few days. Our mornings photo 6 was treated to a plethora of different birds and the autumnal light this time of year can be just magical. In the afternoon a standard sea eagle adventure was the order of business, and we were beginning to wonder what the birds were up to as they all seemed to be flying very high up and being quite territorial. It took a little while but everyone's patience was rewarded when we had a couple of visits from a two different birds. Plenty of other things to look at today as well with the black guillemots now into their winter plumage and the common guillemots still bobbing about in small groups. There has also been a number of inquisitive gannets recently checking us out quite intently.
Alex
Monty
Some slo mo action of Monty today doing what he loves the most. Alex asked me if I fancied joining him and Bex for a walk so I jumped at the chance. Just getting in the car is funny enough as Monty could barely contain his excitement when he knew I was going with him. He was stamping is feet and whining but as soon as we got close to one of his destinations he goes quiet and trembles with excitement. When you pass, then he looks really concerned till he realises there is another venue approaching. When we turned into Ardura forest he was a barely controlled bundle of fur and energy. The jumping in the river has developed over time and now he will even take a run up on the pier to get as much distance as possible. On the way home i treated myself to a crab and mayo hogie from the Fishnish food bar. This afternoon has been spent watching motorbike racing from Oulton park, not a bad war to spend a wet n windy Saturday afternoon.
Another forced day off today with a strong wind forecast and the first snows of the season up on the nevis range. Making the most of the free time I nipped up to Ulva to do the final engine service for the year. I didn't think a picture of some old engine oil was very interesting for today's post so here's some pretty flowers from last week instead!
Well unfortunately it didn't look like this as we put LJ away this evening! A low pressure system has arrived, bringing with it some cold and damp winds from up North. In an effort to suffer as little disruption as possible we ran an extra trip today so it was an early rise this morning (although the fishermen were already working by the time we got to Ulva) and we were rewarded for our efforts with three great trips. It was nice to see compo and his new missus back in their regular territory as they've been out west lately in preparation for the grey seals pupping, and the afterbirths that come along with that. I'm told a few pups have been seen out there now so they will probably be back and forward a fair bit.
What a day! Eagles and dolphins on both morning and afternoon trips today with some beautiful autumnal light starting to appear, and making everything look just that little bit nicer. I've left the audio on the video alone so crank it up and listen to the dolphins chatting amongst themselves. Maybe give the video a wee while to post in full quality before viewing as well as I think it's well worth it!
Alex
Gardening
No trips today and with the rubbish weather once again I haven’t been anywhere done anything. So here’s a bit of video I took of Monty the other day doing some gardening. We still don’t really know what he’s thinking but you can tell by the helicopter tail he really enjoys it
Well that was a damp day! in an effort to get as many people out as possible this week despite nature's best efforts, we managed to sneak out during a small window of dry(ish) weather. The eagles were pleased to see us and showing well. I think the rumour has died away somewhat, but we still get asked whether the birds will fly in wet weather. As you can see the feathers are remarkably waterproof and mean that the eagles can put up with quite a lot of wet weather. Thanks to everyone for trusting my call with the weather today, it's not always easy to make the right call but I think we had the best of it in the end.
Alex
